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06.11.10

Iran's Anniversary Jitters

As the country prepares to commemorate last year's revolutionary election riots, officials warn that demonstrators will be dealt with harshly. Daily Beast contributors offer insight into what to expect.

Iranian opposition leaders say rulers in Tehran are smothering freedom, as officials warned against scheduled protests on the one-year anniversary of Iran’s disputed presidential election, which was followed by violent protests closely watched around the world.

Mir-Hossein Mousavi said Saturday that Iran had abandoned the 1979 revolution’s principles by "shutting peoples' mouths, banning the media, holding elections as we saw last year and filling the prisons" with political opponents. He and Mehdi Karroubi called off demonstrations, fearing for participants’ safety, though many protests have been held in the months before the anniversary. On Saturday, there were no reports of protests, though on Friday night, shouts of “Allahu Akbar,” an opposition rallying cry, were heard from the rooftops of Tehran. Mousavi urged supporters to keep the opposition movement alive through social networking.

The U.N. passed new sanctions against Iran Wednesday, just as Iranians prepared to mark the anniversary of last year’s rigged election with more protests. But Reza Aslan says the regime is already crippled beyond repair—and has a lot more to deal with than more useless sanctions.

The anniversary of the rigged election that sparked massive protests is approaching. But Geoffrey Roberston says the freedom fighters’ leader was responsible for the mass execution of political prisoners.